Dream Within a Dream
by MegGiry-TheAlbino
Summary: Edward deals with losing his mother...and not in a good way. But have we ever stopped to ask ourselves: is everything in this real? Is amestris? Is Al in the armor? Is alchemy? What if...everything we see, is but a dream within a dream? Rated T for violence and character death. My friend said this was very thought provoking. ONE-SHOT


**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FMA**

**A/N:This is an AU realm. Maybe present day...depends how you want to see it. Not in Amestris. I hope you like it. I have no idea how I thought this up, but if I'm over my writers block, this should be pretty good. Or at least, I think the plot is. I didn't convey it all that well. **

**I was listened to Brothers by Vic Mignogna, and his viagra voice inspired me~~~~ **

**Please read and review! And there is more FMA stories on my page!**

**All That We See is But a Dream Within a Dream**

_"Are you ready?" The older glanced at the younger, intense gaze pausing to smile at the frightened boy. Alphonse swallowed. _

_"Br-brother...This isn't-" _

_"Al," Edward insisted, grabbing his brother's hand,"It's what we've studied and sacrificed so much for." _

_Alphonse paled. Did his brother see that...in his hand? No, Edward couldn't be aware of it. The circle...on the ground...Edward, why are you acting this way? _

_Edward braced himself, the object pressed to his shoulder by his palm's doing. Ed smiled before whispering,"Equivalent exchange..." _

"No!" Edward screamed out. "No! Alphonse...save him!"

Pinako stared at the young boy's body, his arm gone, and Alphonse...How could she explain it to Edward? She had told him gently, fiercely, and forced to let him feel Alphonse's limp body. Edward wouldn't believe anything.

"I'll bring him back! Just like I did...mom..." Edward squeaked the last word, then looked back at Alphonse. The older took the younger's hand in his, gripping it tight with his only good hand. "I promise Al...we're going to get your body back..."

"You're Pinako?"

"Yes, Officer Mustang."

Roy Mustang breathed out power. In his police uniform, he seemed like he was lord over all...and Winry, shaking in the corner, almost believed he was, for a second.

"What is the boy saying?"

Pinako sighed, looking at the ground, shaking her head. "...He says that...that he and Alphonse...they tried to bring back there mother using...Alchemy..."

Mustang nodded. "I've heard of that. Alchemy is based off of one law though, and that is equivalent exchange." He peaked into the darkened room.

"He realized that," he said, looking at the trail of blood on the floor.

"He's saying...that...that his brother is a suit of armor...that they use alchemy..."

"The root is their father, isn't it?" Mustang asked, eyebrows raised.

"...Trisha never told them the truth..."

He pursed his lips. "Just as well. Better to have a lazy father than a sadistic mass murderer that's six feet under."

"Trisha always used to say that he was just like his father..." Pinako said, pressing her palm to her mouth. "I didn't think it meant like this..."

Roy pursed his lips. "How did the other...?"

"He...fell...into the grave."

"Fell?"

Pinako's unreadable eyes never left the ground.

"They brought out their mother's remains, correct?"

"Y-yes..."

"I-"

A piercing scream rang out, and they ran into the room, where the two young Elrics were staying. They found Ed, writhing in the floor, his leg...no longer attached to his body...

"Bring him back, damn it!" Edward screamed. "He's my brother!"

Pinako rushed forward to stop the bleeding, and Officer Mustang ran forward, shaking him. j

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!"

"I'm saving him...I'm saving them both!"

"Edward, damn it!" Roy smacked the boy across the face.

"Alphonse-"

"He's dead, Edward!"

_Alphonse watched his brother cut off his own arm, watched it fall into the grave of their mother. Ed had the 'transmutation circle' drawn around them. Al didn't understand Edward much anymore, not since mom died. He'd found dad's study and...it scared him. Ed scared Alphonse, and Al realized, if Ed planned to sacrifice them for some sick magic to bring mom back...it's better to be dead than living in fear. _

_Edward's face fell, watching as he realized nothing happened. _

_"It's not enough...it has to be both of us, Al." _

_Al's lip quivered. "...I...I already gave the blood, brother." _

_Ed's expression darkened. "We could have mom back," his voice was erratic and frantic. "Don't you want that?" _

_Al looked down, afraid. "Ed...your arm...we need to get you help-" _

_"Al, come here," Ed said, gesturing for his brother to come here, the knife still in his hand. Al trembled, backing away. _

_"Ed, I..." _

_"Come on, Al! It doesn't hurt that bad! I did it, now it's your turn!" _

_"Ed, I don't wanna..." he mumbled. Ed lunged as Alphonse kicked away. "No! No! I don't want to!" _

_Edward got him on the ground, but the boy teetered back, and Edward could do nothing but watch as his brother fell back into his mother's grave. Edward stared solemnly. _

_"...I guess I knew Mom's soul was worth more than my arm..." he mumbled. _

_Pinako found Edward in the rain, loosing so much blood. She pulled out Al, and brought them back. She couldn't help but know it all along, _

_Edward was just like his father. _

"What do you want me to do with him, ma'am?"

Pinako shook her head at the officer. "Do whatever you want with the boy...he's lost it. Just like his father. He couldn't handle it..."

Edward was laughing and shaking in the corner.

"I don't even think he's living in this world anymore," she whispered, disgusted. Roy nodded.

"I understand."

Edward Elric was locked away, until he was no longer considered a threat to society. He killed himself in equivalent exchange, trying to bring his brother back to life. Alphonse Elric died at age nine, from his brother's delusional reality. Edward Elric never lived in the real world of Resembool, Washington State. He was completely lost in his mind.

All that we see, is but a dream within a dream.

**I don't think I conveyed it very well, but this was my idea that none of FMA really happened, it was all Ed's imagination. So, just let that idea provoke you. Pllleeeeaaassseee review! And be brutally honest!**


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